


i'm watching it burn

by universalmay



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Black Paladin Keith, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Kidge Week, Unbeta'd, angst everywhere, prompt 1: burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-06 12:06:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8750161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universalmay/pseuds/universalmay
Summary: Pidge could see the tired frown on Keith's face. The role of the Black Paladin made him more mature, but so cautious. He barley spoke to anyone when Hunk was morally wounded by one of the monsters that Hagger made. Does he still blame himself? "I miss him." Pidge caught herself as she stared at the fire. She could feel Keith's body go more rigid because he knew what she was talking about. Of course he knew. The silence felt more defined now. She could hear the crackling of the fire.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for taking the time to read this fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> This is my first time writing Keith and Pidge so I'm sorry if it's OOC, but it's like five years into the future. The song title is from the song Burn from the Hamilton musical. 
> 
> Again, thank you for reading!

There was heated tension between Pidge and Keith as they both looked at the bonfire that they created. They were both stuck on a remote planet, and they were waiting for Allura and Coran to take them and their lions back to their ship. 

Pidge couldn't help but wince at the gash on Keith's forehead.They were ambushed by space pirates, and now they had to crash on this planet to let their lions save energy. Every paladin had to crash on a planet at least once, but not since Shiro's-

_Shiro._

The elephant in the room, or at least the elephant between Pidge and Keith. Ever since Shiro died, Keith who had already been closed off before then was now more far away and more unreachable. Sure he still hot-fived everyone and he still gave encouragements to his team-mates. But his rare smiles were now every once in a blue moon. She barley saw him at all besides training.

Pidge could see the tired frown on Keith's face. The role of the Black Paladin made him more mature, but so cautious. He barley spoke to anyone when Hunk was mortally wounded by one of the monsters that Hagger made. 

 _Does he still_ _blame himself?_

"I miss him." Pidge caught herself as she stared at the fire. She could feel Keith's body go more rigid because he knew what she was talking about. Of course he knew. The silence felt more defined now. She could hear the crackling of the fire.

It was true that she missed Shiro. Shiro was the closest confidant that she had besides Coran. He knew her family, and he knew them well. She missed the swapping stories with him, and she missed the stories where Shiro talked about his and Matt's Garrison days. She missed his dependability

_He misses him._

It was clearly evident that Keith had missed him. When one of the paladins mentioned Shiro in front of Keith, Keith's face would be filled with grief. When Keith mentioned Shiro in a team pep-talk, his voice would become gruff and his mouth would form a hard line. Shiro was also Keith's confidant, and Shiro was the closest friend that Keith had. It crushed him. Keith wanted to honor Shiro's memory and legacy. 

"I know." Keith said. His hands were clinched into fists. Pidge turned to him and saw that Keith was now staring at the ground. Her breath caught as she something that she hadn't saw in Keith's eyes in months. He was trying his damnedest not to cry. 

"You miss him too." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. And Keith knew it. 

Keith tried to hold his tears in. "I-I know." 

Pidge took a deep breath and mustered all the wisdom that she had. "Look, Keith, I'm no Hunk, but it's okay to talk to someone about it. I mean- you don't have to talk to me about it. _Look_ , you're not alone. You don't have to do this alone. You have Hunk, Lance, Allura, Coran, and me. Even if you're the leader, we're still a team. And even though you blame yourself for Shiro's sacrifice-" Keith couldn't help but start to say something when Pidge shushed him.

"No interrupting. You do. I think that you have all this pent up emotion going on, and it might spill over. I know that you're trying to be strong for us, but god, your mental health is more important to us. You can talk to us about what you're feeling, and it's okay to have them. And I just wanted to say that it wasn't your fault." Pidge looked him directly in the eye now. " _It wasn't your fault."_ Keith's lips trembled as he heard the words. 

Keith took a long breath to try to collect himself. "It's unfair, Pidge. _All of it._ Shiro was a great man who did _nothing_ wrong, and the universe still screwed him over. _God._ He was in the Galaran prison living in absolute hell, and he still came out of it strong and brave and kind. And he still had his saint-like patience." This earned him a chuckle from Pidge. "And when he died to save us, all I could think of was that _it should've been me._ "

Keith took another deep breath as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Shiro was the greatest man I knew, and he made me the man I am today." Pidge's eyes went round as she heard how broken Keith's voice was. Keith continued,"You should've seen me at the Garrison, Pidge. I was an angry foster kid who slacked off and did some pretty bad shit. But then, I met Shiro. He was the person who made an effort to see my potential. He was the one who encouraged me to get my shit together and become a pilot. He was my best and friend. And now, he's gone forever and there is nothing that I can do to fix that.

Pidge wrapped her arms around Keith, as Keith cried into her shoulder. Keith kept muttering words that Pidge couldn't decipher. She just kept holding him whispering endearments to him. 

Suddenly, Keith pulled away from her and desperately wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to see that."

Pidge sighed and placed her hand on Keith's shoulder. "Well, I'm glad that I did. Keith, we're worried about you. You can't repress your feelings and still go on with life. Trust me I know." 

And she knew. Oh god, she knew. She remembered how she reacted after the news of the _Kerberos_ mission. She remembered how she tried hard to forgot about how much it _hurt._ It still did, everyday, but she had accepted what she was feeling. And now, Keith needed to accept what he was feeling too. 

"Keith, Shiro would be proud of you. In fact, I'm sure Shiro is proud of you and he's rooting for you in whatever kind of weird after-life he's in. Actually-"

Pidge yelped as Keith embraced her. To be honest, it was kind of awkward, but she cherished it. It had been so long since Keith had actually hugged. And she was glad that it was her.   


"Thank you,"whispered Keith. 

"Anytime." Pidge replied. 

They both pulled apart and looked at the fire. Pidge knew that it would take a few more years to let Keith truly heal. Besides, it had been years since the  _Kerberos_ mission and she still hadn't healed either. It would be a long and hard ride, but Pidge was ready to face it and she knew that Keith was ready too. After all, they were the paladins of Voltron, and they wouldn't let anything get into their way.   


Pidge looked up to the sky, smiling.   


_I'm ready._

  



End file.
